Invention and use of portable and home use exercise machines is known to the public. In recent decades, as the awareness of the importance of cardiovascular and muscle training has risen, so too has the demand for increased and improved exercise equipment. While gyms and health clubs typically offer a variety of sophisticated and expansive equipment, such clubs are often undesirable because of distance from the user or high membership fees. And, even those who are members of such a facility do not always have the time or energy to visit the club, even when a workout is desired or needed. Further, the public has become more aware that consistent and intelligently applied exercise can lengthen lifespan, overcome physical disfunction and provide other related advantages. Thus, there is an ever-growing demand for versatile, affordable and effective exercise equipment that can be easily utilized at home, in the office, while on vacation or at any number of other locations.
One of the original home exercise apparatuses was introduced by I. P. George in U.S. Pat. No. 3,118,441 issued in 1964. This device is bracketed to the top of a door and has two vertical bars that extend above the door frame. A pulley on each bar accepts a cable with a handle on the end. When a chair or the like is placed against the door, the user can sit on the chair, grasp the handles and pull them downwardly to perform several different arm strengthening exercises. However, this design has several problems. First of all, it makes no accommodation for variable heights of the chair or user. Thus, there is an increased chance that the user will be unable to effectively work the desired muscles properly. In addition, the device is not compact or easily portable, and therefore not conveniently relocated when desired.
Perhaps the most serious downfall George is that it is only capable of engaging a limited range of muscle groups, notably the biceps and deltoids, and therefore incapable of providing a complete workout. This is a serious drawback because when some muscle groups are regularly engaged while others are left relatively inactive, the possibility of muscle strain or injury is greatly increased, as the weaker muscle groups cannot sustain the force that the opposing, stronger groups are capable of accommodating.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,685,670 issued to Harlod Zinkin in 1987 is an exercise apparatus using an elastic or spring type resistance with a multiple pulley arrangement attached to elastic rubber straps to provide tension on a cable that is threaded through openings in an elongated housing. An external hand grip is secured to one end of the cable to be grasped or otherwise engaged by the user. A significant problem with this invention is that it only provides one handle, thus allowing only one arm to be exercised at a time and thereby requiring more time to a complete exercise program. In addition, this configuration, like George, allows the user to participate in a very limited number of exercises utilizing a limited number of muscles groups.
Thus, to remedy the significant defects of these muscle-specific devices, several exercise devices were designed to attach to a door in two different directions, thereby allowing the device to be employed in a greater number of exercises and engage a greater number of muscle groups. One such invention, introduced by Irving Franklin et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,611,805, issued in 1986, is composed of a support bracket that secures the device to the top, or alternately the bottom, of a door or bed frame. A T-shaped exercise bar extends horizontally from the bracket, but may be secured in several other positions angled from the bracket. Heavy elastic cords extend from the exercise bar to a pair of handles. When the device is secured to the bottom of the door, the handles are upwardly moveable, and when it is secured to the top of the door they are downwardly moveable.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,830,365, introduced by Craig March in 1989, hooks to the top and bottom of a door. In one position, a vertical containment housing is located near the top of the door, with a spring extending vertically downward from within it. A molded piston assembly is slidably disposed within the containment housing and includes a fastening device that secures the lower end of the spring and a rope. The rope is threaded through a pulley near the bottom of the door and extends outwardly from it, and has a handle attached to the rope end for gripping and pulling. Thus, in this position, exercises in which the rope is pulled outward or upward, such as a leg raise or a biceps curl, can be performed, and when the rope is pulled the spring is extended downwardly. The device can alternately be positioned so that the pulley is at the top of the door, and the containment housing is near the bottom, thus accommodating exercises which require downward pull, such as lateral muscle (or lat) pulldowns or triceps extensions. In this position, force on the rope causes the spring to extend upward.
The apparatus of U.S. Pat. No. 5,221,240 issued to Karen L. Mann in 1993 can also be placed into two positions to allow maximum access to all the muscle groups. This invention is supported in a doorway or hallway by means of a telescoping frame network that can extend or contract to fit in the desired space. The end of each telescoping member includes friction pads that engage the wall's surfaces. Two tether lines are engaged with elastomeric webs at the bottom of the frame and extend upward through guide loops at the top of the frame. The ends of the lines extend downwardly and include handles which may be employed to engage in lateral (or lat) pulldowns and other downward pulling exercises. To perform upward pulling exercises, the device can be inverted so that the elastomeric webs are at the top part of the frame and the guide loops are at the bottom.
There are many problems with this device. First of all, while the telescopic framework provides some benefits in being able to accommodate different sized doors and halls, it also provides a mounting system that is not firmly securable, and too much force could indeed knock it from its position. In addition, this system utilizes guide loops instead of pulleys. This does not provide the smooth action pulleys are capable of providing. In addition, this results in a great deal of strain on the loops, thereby wearing them faster and causing more frequent repair.
Most importantly, however, none of the above related prior art is capable of conveniently providing a comprehensive workout to all the muscle groups. While they may be removed from the door and repositioned so as to accommodate opposing muscle groups, this is a time consuming process, and is especially undesirable in conjunction with weight lifting programs that include set rotations that frequently alternate between downward and upward pulling exercises. In addition, none of the prior art is capable of allowing for not only muscle strengthening exercises, but also cardiovascular exercises as well. Still further, while all of the prior art claims to be portable, the majority of it is not truly, easily portable in a suitcase or the like and a good portion of it requires significant set-up or break-down time. Thus, while these inventions are technically portable, in reality they are more likely employed for use in a single location.
Thus, there is a need for a truly lightweight, portable exercising device that allows all muscle groups to be worked without requiring reconfiguration of the device and further allows for cardiovascular exercise. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides further related advantages as described in the following summary.